Channel "Ukraina" indignant over use of channel’s name in news story for Russia Today

The TV channel “Ukraina” informs that they are indignant over the channel’s Lviv bureau camera operator Vasyl Skopyk and freelancer Natalia Trofimova illegally using the channel’s name when creating a manipulative news story for the Russian TV channel Russia Today. The TV channel made the incident public in its statement.

The incident took place on June 11  and the TV channel is conducting an internal investigation, which will result in correspondent measures.

“Vasyl Skopyk and freelancer Natalia Trofimova fraudulently presented themselves as the filming crew of the TV channel “Ukraina” to take comments from Ukrainian border patrol officers at the border crossing point in Rava-Ruska and in violation of all norms of journalist ethics made a manipulative news story about the visa-free regime for the Russian channel Russia Today”, the channel informs.

Vasyl Skopyk is a camera operator at the Lviv bureau of the TV channel “Ukraina”. Although, the channel makes clear, on June 11 he had no editorial assignments from his superiors.

“In violations of all instructions, Skopyk took the camera without permission and went out to film a story that had nothing to do with the channel «Ukraina”. Natalia Trofimova is not an employee of the channel «Ukraina” and does not work for it or its Lviv bureau in any capacity”, the TV channel’s statement reads.

The channel points out that on June 11 the channel’s Lviv bureau did send on an editorial assignment to cover the launch of the visa-free regime the filming crew of journalist Oksana Laboyko and camera operator Volodymyr Vezhbynskyi. According to the channel, they prepared for the daily news on the channel «Ukraina” an unbiased and high-quality material.

“The staff of the channel «Ukraina” expresses their indignation over behavior of their colleagues who despise professional honor and dignity and ignore the image of their channel and their motherland”, reads the statement.